Day: November 29, 2021

The Viglacera Real Estate Company and Amkor Technology, Inc., one of the world’s largest providers of outsourced semiconductor packaging, design, and test services, have recently signed a contract in principle to lease land to build a project for manufacturing, assembling and testing semiconductor materials at Yen Phong II-C Industrial Park in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

Accordingly, Amkor Technology will invest 1.6 billion USD between now and 2035 to build a plant to manufacture, assemble and test semiconductor products on a site of 23ha in the IP.

Construction of the project is expected to begin in the first quarter of next year.

The first phase of the project will focus on the production, assembly and testing of semiconductor materials for the world’s leading semiconductor and electronic manufacturing companies.

“This is a strategic, long-term investment in geographical diversification and factory capacity expansion, supporting the company’s commitment to reliable supply chain solutions for our customers. Factory utilization is high, particularly at our advanced packaging sites, and we expect the strong market demand for assembly and test solutions to continue. Investing in Bac Ninh expands our manufacturing footprint in support of customer need for an alternative cost-competitive supply chain solution for Advanced System in Package (SiP) – and for other packaging solutions in the future,” Giel Rutten, Amkor’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said in a press statement.

“Support from Bac Ninh and a strong labour force make Bac Ninh an excellent choice for this expansion, and we expect this new facility to become an important part of our assembly and test network in the future,” he said.

Established in 1968, with headquarters in Arizona, the US, and 17 factories in China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Portugal and Taiwan (China), Amkor Technology, Inc. is considered one of the world’s largest manufacturers, assemblers and testers of semiconductor materials, and is currently a strategic manufacturing partner for the world’s leading chip companies, chip foundries and microchips such as Qualcomm, Samsung, NVIDIA, Foxconn, Broadcom, LG, and SK Hynix.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Many securities companies are planning to raise capital through forms such as dividend payment, purchase rights and private offerings to meet the growth of the stock market.

The Board of Directors of SSI Securities Corporation (SSI) has just issued a resolution to submit to the General Meeting of Shareholders a plan to increase charter capital to nearly 15 trillion VND (661.4 million USD) through share offerings to existing shareholders.

Accordingly, the securities firm plans to offer about 497.4 million new shares to existing shareholders, with a ratio of 2:1 and offering price of 15,000 VND per share. The total offering value at maximum par value is approximately 4.97 trillion VND. Existing shareholders have the right to transfer their rights to buy shares to others within a specified time.

In September, SSI issued nearly 218.3 million shares to increase capital from owner’s equity and offered more than 109.55 million shares to existing shareholders. Thereby, the company’s charter capital rose to nearly 9.85 trillion VND.

With the new resolution, if the issuance is completed, its charter capital will reach nearly 15 trillion VND, continuing to maintain SSI’s position as the largest securities company in Vietnam.

A representative of SSI said that the rise in charter capital is to supplement business capital, improve underwriting capacity, investment capacity and margin lending capacity. During the time when there are no margin lending transactions, the money will be used to invest in bonds and certificates of deposit to ensure efficient use of capital.

Also during the period, Yuanta Securities Vietnam Company Limited (YSVN) has just been approved by the State Securities Commission (SSC) to increase its charter capital from 1.5 trillion VND to 2 trillion VND.

Nguyen Thanh Tung, general director of YSVN, said that higher charter capital will help YSVN increase its capacity to provide more margin loans. It will also increase investment in technology, upgrade systems, improve processes, hire more employees, conduct domestic and foreign training and develop new products to bring the best experience to customers.

The document expected to be submitted to the 2021 Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders next month of VNDirect Securities Corporation also said that its Board of Directors will submit to the General Meeting of Shareholders for approval an offering plan of nearly 435 million shares to existing shareholders with a ratio of 1:1 and the offering price equal to the par value of 10,000 VND share.

According to the plan, VNDirect will use 40 percent of the fund to supplement capital for margin lending activities, while the rest is for investment in valuable papers, underwriting securities activities, supplementing capital for issuance and distribution of covered warrants.

VNDirect’s Board of Directors will also submit a plan to issue nearly 348 million shares to increase capital from equity sources (bonus shares) with the expected rate of 80 percent, meaning shareholders with 100 shares will be entitled to receive 80 new shares.

With these two issuances, the charter capital of VNDirect can edge to more than 12 trillion VND. The execution time is in 2021 or 2022.

Many other securities companies also have significant capital increase plans at this time.

Preliminary statistics showed that more than 30 securities companies have plans to raise capital in 2021, mainly through forms like paying dividends, purchase rights, and private offerings.

YSVN said that the stock market is witnessing a historic boom in both liquidity and trading value, becoming the most wanted investment channel. Just in the first ten months of 2021, there were more than one million new brokerage accounts opened, which was the highest figure in history.

The rapid increase in the number of accounts and positive movements of the market has boosted demand for margin loans.

However, due to tight capital sources and regulations on the ceiling of outstanding loans for the activity, many securities companies have not been able to meet investors’ demand.

Therefore, YSVN believes that these raising charter capital plans are made at the right time, helping companies to increase margin lending, serving the rising capital demand.

Abundant capital will also improve the profit outlook of securities companies.

In the first nine months of this year, income from margin lending, brokerage and proprietary trading of securities companies climbed dramatically compared to the same period last year, helping many securities companies reach their profit plans for the whole year of 2021 three months ahead of scheduled.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Ho Chi Minh City is the leading locality in the country in economic reopening and recovery, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham Vietnam).

According to a survey announced by AmCham Vietnam on November 29, businesses in HCM City are on their way to resume production and business activities, and they are optimistic about the future of the Vietnamese market.

The deployment of vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 in the Southeast Asian nation have allowed many sectors to open and recover with a safe roadmap, ensuring regulations on pandemic prevention and control, the survey said.

More than 60 percent of AmCham Vietnam’s member enterprises which responded to the survey, have resumed their operations at 80 percent of the normal capacity, and 85 percent of them operated at 60 percent of the normal capacity or more.

For those which have not yet reached their normal capacity, 25 percent are expected to reach 100 percent by the end of 2021, and over 60 percent and more than 90 percent hope to return to normal in the first and second quarters of 2022, respectively.

Notably, nearly 80 percent of AmCham Vietnam member businesses participating in the survey demonstrated their positive evaluations about the medium and long-term prospects in the Vietnamese market, saying that they have planned or are considering expanding investment in the country.

Executive Director of AmCham Vietnam Mary Tarnowka said that more consistent policies on adjustments to safely live with COVID-19 across localities nationwide will be key to Vietnam’s economic recovery.

Accordingly, liberalizing the requirements related to international travel of foreign experts will not only facilitate investment expansion of enterprises operating in Vietnam, but also attract new investment inflows, she said.

However, the survey shows that production and business enterprises are also facing many difficulties because the domestic market continues to fluctuate and the international supply chain is still not connected as seamlessly as before.

The survey said the restriction on international travel is the main factor limiting operations of businesses at present, which leads to supply chain disruptions and increasing costs. Up to 56 percent of AmCham Vietnam’s member businesses said that they have encountered the shortage of labourers.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam welcomed over 15,000 foreign tourists in November, up 42.4 percent from the figure in October, the General Statistics Office (GSO) announced on November 29.

The rise is attributed to the Government’s decision to allow a pilot programme to welcome back international tourists who join package tours entering the country via either charter flights or international commercial flights to designated places and tourism facilities in Phu Quoc (Kien Giang), Khanh Hoa, Quang Nam, Da Nang and Quang Ninh.

In the first 11 months of this year, the number of foreign tourist arrivals to Vietnam was 140,100, down 96.3 percent year-on-year.

Of the total, the number of visitors arriving by air accounted for 68.9 percent, down 96.9 percent; by road accounted for 30.7 percent, down 92.9 percent, and by sea made up 0.4 percent, down 99.7 percent. General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Trung Khanh affirmed that the event to welcome the first delegation of international holidaymakers back to Vietnam in this period was an important step to gradually revive the tourism sector towards the full reopening and economic development in the new context.

In order to enhance the effectiveness of the “Live fully in Vietnam” campaign, the VNAT is actively implementing activities to promote and stimulate tourism recovery, including popularising photos, video clips and articles on both domestic and international communications channels.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) won a total of 20 prizes, including one special prize shared with two other agencies, four first, one second, seven third and seven consolation prizes, at the 7th National External Information Service Awards presentation ceremony in Hanoi on November 28 night.

With these prizes, VNA became one of the units that have secured the largest number of prizes in the National External Information Service Awards for consecutive years.

Co-organised by the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education and the Central Steering Committee for External Information Service, the event honoured 102 best entries, including one special, 10 first, 19 second, 29 third and 43 consolation prizes.

It also marked the 10th year of implementing the Politburo’s Conclusion No.16-KL/TW on the external information development strategy for the 2011-2020 period. Over the past decade, external information has made positive contributions to the country’s information and education work as well as the Party and State’s achievements in external affairs.

This year, the organising board received over 1,000 entries in 14 languages which were published as articles in print and online newspapers, websites licensed by competent agencies, radio and TV broadcast, press and landscape photos, and books.

Notably, foreign authors and press agencies, overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese embassies abroad also sent works to the arwards.

Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh described external information as an important part of the Party’s external affairs, State and people-to-people diplomacy, and ideological affairs. Its core role is to bring Vietnam to the world and the world closer to Vietnam, he said.

The PM requested renewing the external information work by adopting advanced technologies to improve quality, thus ensuring correctness, timeliness, attractiveness, relevance and efficiency in multiple languages.

He presented certificates to a group of authors winning the special prize, including the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the VNA and those participating in the external information work, for their work on introducing and popularising Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong article entitled “Several theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path towards socialism in Vietnam” to political parties and international friends.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Nguyen Phuong Nga held a working session with the Switzerland-Vietnam Friendship Association (SVFA) in Bern, Switzerland, on November 27.

At the event, SVFA Chairwoman Anjuska Weil expressed her delight at the development of bilateral ties between the two countries and highly evaluated Vietnam’s development achievements.

SVFA’s members proposed ideas to foster the friendship between the two nations’ people, connect the Vietnamese community in Switzerland and attract young people of both countries into activities to raise their mutual understanding and solidarity. They shared with the Vietnamese people about adverse impacts from COVID-19 and wished that the two countries would overcome the pandemic soon.

The two sides also looked into ways to boost cooperative ties, especially celebrations for the 40th founding anniversary of the SVFA next year.

At a meeting on the same day between President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the SVFA and the Vietnamese community in Switzerland, VUFO President Nguyen Phuong Nga presented an insignia “For Peace, Friendship among Nations”, the most noble distinction of the VUFO, to SVFA Chairwoman Anjuska Weil in recognition of her contributions to the solidarity and friendship between the Vietnamese and Swiss people.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Geneva on November 28 (local time) as part of his official visit to Switzerland.

At the meeting, he thanked the WTO for its attention and support given to Vietnam’s socio-economic development.

He said that from a war-torn country, Vietnam has gradually risen to become a major exporter and effectively solved social security problems, thus improving people’s living standards. Vietnam is also an active and responsible member in international affairs.

In the development process, Vietnam also maintains a consistent policy of promoting international economic integration, supports the role of the WTO, and is willing to work closely with the Office of the WTO Director-General and other members in all activities of the organisation.

In the coming time, the WTO should focus on solving a number of technical problems in order to maintain its effective operation in the context of more and more disputes and trade remedies arising, he noted.

“Vietnam supports the WTO’s reform efforts and initiatives on the basis of maintaining a balance between rights and obligations, ensuring that they are appropriate to the development level and implementation capacity of its members, especially developing and underdeveloped ones,” he stressed.

For her part, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala expressed her impression of Vietnam’s achievements in socio-economic development and international economic integration in general as well as in the implementation of commitments and obligations within the WTO framework in particular.

Especially, she praised Vietnam’s impressive achievements in improving people’s lives and reducing poverty, saying it is a good model for all developing countries to follow.

The WTO Director-General also appreciated Vietnam’s efforts in producing COVID-19 vaccines, joining hands with the world in the fight against the pandemic.

The same day, President Phuc visited Geneva State and was warmly welcomed by President of the state’s Council Serge Dal Busco.

The Geneva leader spoke highly of Vietnam’s socio-economic development achievements and expressed his delight at the good results of the multifaceted cooperation that the two sides have obtained since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1971. He believed that these are solid foundations that contribute to promoting bilateral cooperation in the coming time.

President Phuc asked the leaders of Geneva state to create favourable conditions for local businesses to expand investment and business cooperation with Vietnam. He suggested the state study the establishment of partnerships with Vietnamese localities, especially in the fields of Geneva’s strengths such as economy-finance, tourism, science-high technology, medicine, economy, environment, and urban planning and development.

Meeting with President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Gianni Infantino on November 28, President Phuc asked FIFA to continue to cooperate and support the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) in programmes and projects to develop facilities, improve expertise and administrative management, and organize professional football tournaments in Vietnam. He expressed his wish that FIFA will continue to promote world football activities post pandemic, adding that Vietnam always supports FIFA’s activities and will actively participate in activities organised by the organisation.

Gianni Infantino also recommended that Vietnam should create conditions for its teams to participate in regional and international tournaments to sharpen their skills, gain experience and become more mature.

He affirmed that FIFA will continue to closely cooperate and support the VFF and look forward to having the opportunity to return to Vietnam soon.

At a meeting with Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, the Vietnamese State leader appreciated the effective multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and the UN, considering it a top priority in its foreign policy of multilateralisation and diversification. The President affirmed that Vietnam supports the UN in promoting its central role in global governance, keeping international peace and security, boosting sustainable development, ensuring human rights, and effectively responding to common challenges, especially non-traditional ones such as climate change, epidemics, food security.

Vietnam wishes to develop comprehensive cooperation with the UN, including the UN Office in Geneva, especially in the context that 2022 will mark the 45th anniversary of Vietnam’s accession to the UN.

Regarding the prevention and control of the COVID-19, the President said that at this time, the epidemic situation in Vietnam has been basically controlled. Vietnam has switched to a safe and flexible adaptation strategy to realise the goals of effectively fighting the pandemic, ensuring social security, and restoring and promoting socio-economic development.

He suggested that UN organisations continue to support Vietnam in increasing access to vaccine sources and implementating its vaccination campaign, help with medical supplies and equipment as well as policy advice and experience to support long-term socio-economic recovery in a green, sustainable, and more resilient direction.

On this occasion, President Phuc thanked the UN for cooperation and support for Vietnam to fulfill its role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for nearly two years.

For her part, Tatiana Valovaya highly valued Vietnam’s excellent performance as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021 with many initiatives and practical contributions to global issues.

She also lauded Vietnam’s determination and efforts in protecting human rights and realising the sustainable development goals, emphasising that Vietnam is a developing country but shows its leading role and is a model in combating climate change. She added that the UN always attaches importance to and is ready to cooperate with Vietnam to promote areas of shared concern.

On the same day, President Phuc and his entourage visited officials and staff of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN and Vietnamese experts working at international organisations in Geneva.

Source: Vietnam News Agency